Tajikistan continues to hold BBC journalist

New York, July 13, 2011--The Committee to
Protect Journalists urges Tajik prosecutors in Khujand, northern Tajikistan, to
drop politicized extremism charges against BBC reporter Urinboy Usmonov, and
calls for his immediate release. The journalist is being charged with failing
to report the activities of the Islamist group Hizb-ut-Tahrir to Tajik law
enforcement agencies, Usmonov's lawyer, Faiziniso Vokhidova, told the Tajik service of the U.S. government-funded Radio Free
Europe/Radio Liberty (Radio Ozodi).

Authorities arrested Usmonov a month ago. Investigators have since dropped
two initial charges. They had originally accused Usmonov of being a member of Hizb-ut-Tahrir
and of making "public calls to forcibly change the constitutional system of
Tajikistan," according to press reports and CPJ interviews.

On Tuesday, General
Prosecutor Sherkhon Salimzoda announced that the Tajik national security
service, known as the KNB, had completed its investigation against Usmonov and
sent the case to the regional prosecutor's office for review, the BBC reported. Salimzoda also said that he had asked the KNB
to send a summary of the case to President Emomali Rahmon, according to the BBC.

"The Tajik
government is now prosecuting Urinboy Usmonov for not being a government
informer," CPJ Deputy Director Robert Mahoney said. "This action essentially
criminalizes journalism. We call on the Tajik prosecutor to drop the charges
against Usmonov and release him immediately."

In a statement issued today, the BBC World Service said the allegations
were completely baseless, and said that "meetings and interviews with people
representing all shades of opinion are part of the work of any BBC journalist."

Tajik authorities are
claiming as evidence Hizb-ut-Tahrir literature confiscated from Usmonov's home,
according to the BBC, as well as the fact that he had met with the group's members. The BBC
said: "The BBC has commissioned Mr. Usmonov to report on Hizb ut-Tahrir's
activities in Tajikistan, and would expect him to investigate the opinions held
and materials produced by members of the organization."

The BBC also
expressed concern over Usmonov's health; he suffers from diabetes and has a heart
condition. Usmonov's wife, Malokhat Abduazimova, told the BBC last month that during her visit to the KNB
she hardly recognized her husband. "He was so down and thin," she said. "He
barely walked. I noticed that he was struggling to reach out to shake his
brother's hand. I can't describe it."

Since his arrest,
Usmonov had been in the custody of the KNB, but was transferred on June 22 to a
pretrial detention facility in Khujand, Radio Ozodi reported.